A Gods Life
by Lady Athena Lionfire
Summary: Athena has to help another God, who? How? Why? Read and find out.


A Gods Life  
  
  
The hall was about as long as eternity and as wide as time itself, in the centre a long table made of solid mahogany was littered with plates, cups and cutlery, food lay half eaten on the plates and splashes of wine and ambrosia stained the dark wood. Chairs had been thrown back so that many lay on the floor with legs sticking up and the soft cushions were scattered around the room.  
  
All in all it suggested that the room had been host to the wildest party Mount Olympus had ever seen.  
  
A groaning sound from under the table got louder as Dionysus God of Wine and stupid requests made by Mortals, crawled out and landed with a soft thud on the rug. Moaning louder he clutched his head, and reached up onto the table to see if any wine was left, finding it empty he left the hall and staggered down a passageway following the sound of laughter.  
  
"And I said, that's no sheep, that's my mother-in-law." A gale of laughter was met by this remark, and a voice that was clearly recognisable as Hera said,  
  
"Oh dear, Zeus, you do tell the funniest stories, now sit down and be quiet." A mildly upset Zeus sat down in a golden throne, throwing one leg over the arm of the throne and resting his head on the back.  
  
"Whats up Dionysus? The God of wine can't take a little alcohol, how about that, I'd have thought you wouldn't get a hangover." Glowering at the smirking King of Gods Dionysus looked around for Apollo, who, as well as being Sun God was also God of medicine and doctors. Glancing around the meeting room he realised that the Gods were all there apart from Apollo, the sound of horses announced that he was back from pulling the Sun over the Earth. Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and War clucked her tongue dissaprovingly and ran a hand through her brown ringlets,  
  
"Dionysus, dear, I know it's your job to promote wine and, well, alcoholism, but, must you roll in late each morning with a hangover?" Nodding Dionysus sighed,  
  
"It's all in a days work." Zeus chuckled and straightening in his throne clearing his throat, immediatly the Gods and Goddesses turned and watched Zeus, who clearly enjoyed the attention.  
  
"I've been having complaints from Mortals that summer is to short, Hades, its up to you whether you let Persephone go home longer, you know how Demeter gets when she goes back to the Underworld." Hades thought for a moment and his pale brow furrowed as he thought the problem through,  
  
"You know how I see it?" He asked after an almost unbearable silence, Zeus glanced at Hera who shrugged,  
  
"I see it like this, when I first made a deal with Demeter about Persephone going home the year didn't have as many months, now those mathematical eggheads..."  
  
"They are called Romans." Athena interupted with a smirk, Hades raised an eyebrow and continued,  
  
"Fine, those Romans, have been messing with the calender and I get more months with Persephone than Demeter does. So if we organise it that she goes to her mums around March and comes to me around September we both get six months each." Zeus looked stunned for a second then he glanced at Athena, who nodded,  
  
"It makes sense Father," She said with a grin at her Uncle, who looked proud,  
  
"Hey, I gotta count all the dead guys who come my way, I learn a thing or two about numbers. Now Zeus, whats next on the agenda?" Zeus chuckled and said,  
  
"Aphrodite, I'm afraid promoting free love has got to stop, its putting Hera out of business," Aphrodite grinned and stretched her long legs out, crossing them she arranged her toga so that it was covering her knees,   
  
"Zeus, thats my job, I'm the Goddess of love, I help people fall in love, what they do when they fall is their business, but if you insist I suppose Hera and I could work together to promote love and marriage." Hera smiled and nodded at the young Goddess who looked relieved,  
  
"Aphrodite I think that's a marvelous idea, we'll get to it straight away." The Queen of the Gods and marriage said, Aphrodite groaned,   
  
"Oh joy."  
  
"Morning all, sorry I'm late, one of the horses got a stone in their hoof over Asia and I had to stop to get it out. I'm afraid I may have caused something of a panic. At least that's what I deduced from the screams of, 'The sun has stopped, we're all going to die.' Anyway, I think somebody might have to go over there to sort it out." Apollo shrugged helplessly and threw himself into a chair, coughing nervously he looked at Dionysus and grinned,  
  
"Dionysus, hangover? Here," Laying his tanned hand on Dionysus head he concentrated for a moment and a glow spread from his hand to Dionysus head, a barely audible sigh could be heard and some of the younger Gods chuckled.  
  
"Thanks Apollo, your a miracle worker." Apollo grinned,  
  
"Anytime, I enjoy healing, maybe I should teach some Mortals how to do it, it might decrease the death level."  
  
"No!" Hades yelled,  
  
"If Mortals don't die I'm out of a job, anyway they have to die, thats why they are called Mortal, otherwise they'd be Immortal and this place would be very crowded." Shrugging Apollo said,  
  
"Fine, fine, but don't blame me when you have to many dead guys you can't handle them all, and especially if they die of stupid things like a cut, or a cold. When I could very easily cure them." Zeus frowned,  
  
"Now now, don't fight, I'm sure you can both work out an arrangement." Hades smirked at Apollo who stuck his tongue out, Artemis rolled her eyes at her brother, her pale skin seemed to be dusted with moonlight and her pale blonde hair was held back with a leather strap, she was wearing a forest green toga and carrying a bow and arrow.  
  
"Apollo, stop being such a baby, I swear, sometimes, I wonder if I'm related to you." Apollo looked at his twin a hurt expression on his face,  
  
"I'm not a baby, and when did you get so mean?" Artemis's face softened,  
  
"When I found out people are hunting my Deer to eat them." Gasps of shock went around the room and Hera, Athena and Aphrodite all gathered around the Goddess of the hunt, it was a well known fact that although Artemis supported the hunt she never hunted her precious Deer and to find out people were eating them. Well, they knew eventually the young Goddess would blow, and when she did it wouldn't be pretty.   
  
Apollo stared out of the windows that were spaced evenly around the walls of the room, a slightly astonished expression on his handsome face, pulling his lyre out he strummed it softly and the look of astonishment turned into a thoughtful look. Artemis glanced at her brother, wondering for the first time in years what he was thinking.  
  
"I think dear, that it is time you ended the meeting," Hera said thoughtfully, pulling at a lock of red hair she sighed,  
  
"All this worry will turn my hair grey." Chuckling Zeus kissed his wife gently on the cheek,  
  
"Let me do the worrying, after all thats my job." With a gratefull look at her husband she stood up and after brushing the dust from her robes, left the meeting room, the other Deitys following her example all stood up and left.  
  
******************  
  
Athena stalked up and down her room, her brown hair flew about her face and the dark blue toga dress she wore was wrapping around her legs making it difficult to walk. With a sigh of frustration she threw her arms up and collapsed backwards onto the bed, sinking deep into the pillows she kicked her sandals off and yawned, although it was only midday she was exhausted from the mornings meeting and the party the night before.  
  
A knocking on her door made her groan and standing up she waved a hand and the door opened, standing in the doorway Aphrodite was red eyed and her make-up was streaked.  
  
"Athena, I need your advice."  
  
"Whats wrong dear?" Aphrodite burst into tears again and sobbing she told Athena,  
  
"I had a huge argument with Hephaestus, it's not that I don't love him, I do, well, I'm fond of him, I didn't want to marry him in the first place. Zeus made me, but, I'm the Goddess of love for Zeus's sake, I can't be married to such an ugly person. I love Ares, I know he's a little bad tempered."  
  
"A little?" Athena said with a snigger, scowling Aphrodite sighed,  
  
"Fine, have it your way, a lot bad tempered, but underneath the blood and the gore he really is a sweet person. And he's very nice to me, not that Hepheastus isn't nice to me, oh dear, I'm not explaining myself very well am I? Its just, how can I convince Mortals to be in love with each other if I'm married to God I don't love?" She looked hopefully at Athena, who sighed,  
  
"I'll talk to Zeus, but little sister there is only a small chance he will listen." Aphrodite nodded eagerly, her deep blue eyes shining with unshed tears,  
  
"Oh thankyou, I'm sorry I disturbed you, I would have talked to Hera but she is his mother, what could I do?" Smiling Athena kissed the Goddess of love on the cheek and said warmly,  
  
"I'll do my best, and remember, it's never as bad as it seems, just give it time. Time heals all wounds."  
  
*****************  
  
  
Zeus was beginning to have a bad day, it wasn't often that things in Greece got so messed up he got a migraine but occasionally a Mortal would do something so incredibly stupid he would be forced to get down to Earth and smite the idiot.   
  
Unrolling the scroll he glanced at it and groaned, the name at the very top of the page as usual was Midas, even after learning his lesson with the golden touch he still insisted on annoying Gods and to a lesser extent annoying the general population of Greece.  
  
"What's he up to this time?" He wondered out loud, reading the scroll he sighed and massaged his forehead, the scroll read,  
  
Midas, after being rid of the golden touch renounced all his wealth and became a follower of the goat God Pan; he was so convinced of Pan's greatness that he, after a music contest between Pan and Apollo, publically proclaimed Pan's superiority in music. Thus angering the Sun God Apollo, who had been generally agreed by the gatherers to be the better musician. Apollo after claiming that Midas apart from being 'a damn fool' obviously didn't have the ears to listen to such sweet music as he created gave Midas a pair of Asses ears. Midas covered up his shame by wearing a turban, only trusting his secret with his barber who he made promise not to tell a soul. Unable to keep the secret to himself any longer the barber went out into a meadow and dug a hole, whispering the secret into the earth, he covered the hole up and left. Reeds began to grow in the spot where the secret had been told, and a musician upon cutting the reeds to make himself pan-pipes let the secret out, so now anybody passing the meadow will hear the words, 'Kind Midas has asses ears, King Midas has asses ears.'  
  
"APOLLO, GET IN HERE!" Zeus roared, Apollo appeared in the doorway looking startled,  
  
"Yes Zeus?"  
  
"Do the words 'asses ears' mean anything to you?" A red blush spread over Apollos bronzed face and he looked down at the floor sheepishly,  
  
"I'm sorry Zeus, but, Midas publically humiliated me and scorned my music. I had to do something." Groaning Zeus sighed,  
  
"It's the Arachne incident all over again, just don't go turning him into a spider and don't give anybody else asses ears, its really not going to make you a popular God if you do that." Shrugging Apollo left, sniggering as he went, in his opinion Midas looked better with asses ears.  
  
"Father?" Zeus glanced up, standing in the doorway that only seconds before had occupied Apollo, Athena was smiling sweetly, motioning that she could come in he watched as she gracefully strode across the room and sat down in a chair next to him.  
  
"Father, you know Aphrodite and Hephaestus are having marriage troubles right?" He nodded, well aware about his son's marrital problems, Aphrodites screaming had kept him awake for two nights straight now.  
  
"Well, I have a solution that should please all parties concerned."  
  
"Who else is concerned?" He asked, not wanting to know the answer, but asking anyway out of curiosity.  
  
"Ares is Father, Aphrodite says they are in love and although she is very fond of Hephaestus she doesn't love him. I think that maybe you should order Hephaestus to break the marriage bond and let Aphrodite marry Ares instead." Zeus was quite frankly appaled, staring in shock at Athena who paled but remained staring back at him,  
  
"Absolutely not! Do you know what Hera would do to me if she found out I ordered her son to break his marriage bonds? And come to think of it what she would do to Aphrodite, the girl can be a little air headed but I don't think she deserves the wrath of Hera." Nodding Athena had to admit to herself that Zeus was right, nobody deserved Hera being mad at them, even the mighty Heracles had nearly gone mad when Hera had planned to make his life miserable. Now the newly appointed God of strength was one of Heras closest friends. Go figure.  
  
"Of course Father, I'll inform Aphrodite of your decision." Zeus nodded, his face a picture of misery, as much as he wanted to do something to help his son he knew whatever he did would be wrong in the eyes of his wife.  
  
****************  
  
"Well?" Aphrodite was standing outside the meeting hall, a hopefull look on her face.  
  
"I'm sorry Aphrodite, Zeus doesn't want to upset Hera, and as much as I would love to help you, I don't want to have Hera hating me for the rest of eternity, and eternity is a long time to have somebody hating you." The crestfallen Goddess sighed and nodded and Athena felt a twinge of guilt in the pit of her stomach, frowning she screwed up her courage and slammed the door open with one hand,  
  
"Father!" Zeus looked up startled,  
  
"Yes Athena, what is it?" Frowning again she said pointedly,  
  
"You know what this is about! You are the king of the Gods! What you say goes! If you decide that Aphrodite and Hephaestus must break their marriage bond then they must do it, who cares what Hera says about it! Father I'm not going to argue with you, you either tell them to break up or I go to Hera and tell her!" Zeus groaned, his daughter was looking fierce in her armour, the small owl that sat on her shoulder stared at him without blinking and he could feel his eyes watering under the owls piercing stare.  
  
"Alright, I'll do it, and Athena."  
  
"Yes Father?" Athena said smiling sweetly,  
  
"Don't mention this to Hera, when she finds out all hell will break out to put it bluntly."  
  
"Yes Father." Athena said kissing him on the cheek, walking out of the hall she smirked to herself,  
  
"Like shooting fish in a barrel."  
  
*****************  
  
The Gods and Goddesses who resided on Mount Olympus were surprised by Zeus's decision that Aphrodite and Hephaestus must break up, Hephaestus was unsurprisingly unconcerned about the order and after moving his belongings to another room spent most of his free time in his workshop in the base of Mount Etna.  
  
The news of Aphrodites upcoming marriage to Ares shocked nobody, the Gods had been talking about their affair for years and it was no surprise that they were to get married.  
  
Athena sighed as she lay down on her bed, as the pain in her back eased she slowly drifted off to sleep, down the hall the faint sounds of a wild party, hosted as usual by Dionysus, drifted up to her unhearing ears. Smiling she dreamt of music and laughter, birds and animals, flowers and strangely a giant rubber chicken.  
  
The End 


End file.
